1 month check up

Baby had her 1 month checkup yesterday.  Her latest measurement:

weight: 10 lb 4 oz (75-90 percentile) gained over 2 lbs since the 10 day appt!
height: 22 in (90-95 percentile)
head circumference: 14.5 in (25-50 percentile)

Tall girl with a relatively small head?! But the doctor said it's because she has a very round head. I guess that is good thing.. She has some baby acne on her face, neck, and shoulder.  Doctor said it's normal and will go away around 2 month. Other than that, she is doing very well.

I also have a very flexible neck!

Food coma

As with most newborns, baby ellie also has a serious food coma problem.  She would eat very well for a few minutes and then start falling asleep with a little bit of sucking and then finally crash out! It is so difficult to wake her up for the 2nd part of feeding. So difficult that I'd rather feed her more frequently than spending the time to wake up my sleepy baby...

Yes! Just got done eating!

In food coma...

sooooooo sleepy~ Zzzzzzzz...

New baby shopping list (minimalist's version)

Baby ellie sleeps soundly in my moby wrap

I am sort of a minimalist and been very careful about not to waste money on things not needed. I have done a lot of research before the baby was born, but I still ended up with some unused items.

Here is my list and hopefully it will help some other new mothers.

Here are the must-haves:
diapers (a lot! newborn sizes)
baby wipes (a lot!)
onesies/one-pieces (at least 6)
nicer outfits (2)
receiving blankets (~4)
bath towels (2)
wash cloths (~6)
cloth diapers (can be used for various purposes such as burp cloths, ~6)
baby bath soap
nail scissors

crib (or pack and play/bassinet)
crib sheets (2)
infant car seat (maybe good to have an extra base)
stroller
baby bath tub
bouncer (so I can put the baby down)
diaper bag with changing pad
baby carrier (moby, maya or bjorn - I have all 3 thanks to family members!)
extra changing pad (useful if you are not changing her on a changing table all the time)

disposable nursing pads (Lansinoh)
nursing bras (a couple before baby is born and more after)
breast pump (medela)
Lansinoh nipple cream
nursing pillow (I have boppy but everyone says my breast friend is better)

What I got from hospital (Overlake) - i.e., things you don't have to buy
suction bulb
hair brush
hats
thermometer

Everything else is optional! New babies don't need a lot of things. All they do everyday is eat, sleep, and poop/pee! Don't fall into any marketing traps!

One last piece of advice - don't buy too many clothes! You will get a lot from families and friends. Baby clothes are so cute and it's difficult for people to resist =P

Chinese 1 month dinner party

In the chinese culture, 1 month old is a really big milestone for a newborn.  According to my dad, the 1 month party is more or less like a wedding in scale, and much bigger than all the subsequent birthdays for the child.  Relatives and friends will meet the baby for the first time at the party, and red eggs/pig feet will be distributed to them as gift to celebrate the big day.

My family left on 8/18/2010, so we had our chinese 1 month old dinner on the 17th (although she was not quite 1 month yet) at King's restaurant. I have also invited some of my close friends (thanks for coming).  Lots of food! half of that is still in my fridge!

Thanks everyone for coming to the dinner

Family pic!

Picture with Grandma and Grandpa

She is official!

A few days ago we picked up our mail and some of them was for "Ellie Lowrey". Hehe.. As a first time mommy, this certainly made me excited! =) That includes her social security card and her health insurance card. Yup! She now has a SSN and she is official!

Seriously?! over 100 diapers per week!

Hey Mommy, I am still a baby - plus peeing
and pooping is critical to my well-being ^_^

When I was still pregnant, rian has considered using cloth diapers - so much for that! Ellie can seriously consume more than 100 diapers per week. Our landlord bought us a giant box of diapers from cosco (216 count), and I thought it should last for a while, but, no no, she finished it in 2 weeks! There have been many feedings that she will need to go through 3 or 4 diapers, before feeding, in between breast, after feeding.  I imagine my life would be pretty miserable without disposable diapers!

So many clothes.. for a little girl!

Little Ellie is only 3 weeks old, but she already has more clothes than me and Rian - combined and x2! Unbelievable! Rian and I only bought her a few onesies and a blanket (right before she was born just in case she came out early), the rest are either gifts from her aunties, grandparents, etc. Or they are hand-me-downs from my big brother or my cousin Kathy.

Thank you all very much! All the baby clothes are very cute, and I've started to develop a sense of the baby clothing size - which one my baby girl can fit right now, and which one we'll need to wait. I can't trust the labels..she's been wearing a lot of 3-6 month clothes already!

Mommy and Daddy bought me the
duckie (going-home) outfit and blankie

This is from auntie Ashley

from auntie Kathy

from auntie Ada

Shirt from grandma Carol and pants
from auntie ah Mei

Kid monster!

I am a sweet and calm angel when I have
 a full tummy and clean diaper

Rian has come up with so many nicknames for the little one already. When I was pregnant, we've been calling her baby tigger (born in tiger year). After she was born, we usually call her baby, baby girl, baby ellie, sweetie, sweetheart... Now her nicknames aren't that sweet anymore.. =P

Hey kid monster!

I like calling her kid monster - rian came up with the name (and many variations of that, like poop monster, pee pee monster, pocket monster), and I think it fits her very much, especially during the feeding time.

Waking in the middle of the night trying to feed her, I place her on my boppy pillow with my eyes half-opened. Then her cries will stop and she would open up her big eyes and her little mouth. She would keep turning her head left and right searching for the food source, while licking her lips and sometimes making the "tsk tsk..." sound. And then in my mind, I would mentally prepare for the latching pain and tell myself, "ok - she is going to bite me now, breath, breath, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

Well - to me this is pretty "monstrous"! I still love my kid monster though. She is probably the cutest monster ever (of course she is cuter than any pokemons!) if there is such a thing =)

a little upset during diaper change

Another nickname Rian likes to use is "poop foot". Why? Because she would occasionally got *really* mad when daddy changes her poopie diaper (usually when she is hungry). She would cry really loud and move her arms and legs uncontrollably - and occasionally, her tiny feet would end up being stuck inside the poopie diaper... and hence the name "poop foot". Haha! I found this name very funny ;-)

Umbilical stump came off!

On the 14th day (8/6/2010), little Ellie's umbilical stump has finally come off!  Yay~ No need to be super careful when we put on her diaper!  As her responsible parents, we gave her the first bath this morning (8/7/2010).  She seemed to like it at first, and then she got a little impatient later on.

Brand new belly button!

Daddy giving Ellie her first bath

hm...I guess it is not too bad?

Baby's outdoor adventures

Me, Dr Kim and Baby Ellie (8/2/2010)

Doctor appointments

We had 2 doctor appointments, 1 for baby and 1 for me, the past monday. Everything is fine.  Mommy's incision was healing nicely.  And we took a picture with Dr. Kim after the appointment.  At the baby's appointment, they weighted her again and she was 8 lbs and 1.5 ozs (she has already past her birth weight at 10 days I am so proud of her... and myself!) They also drew some more blood from baby's foot.  Baby cried but daddy did a good job calming her down.

Mom's birthday party (8/1/2010)

Week of birthdays

It has been a week of birthdays.  Little Ellie has already been in so many birthday parties!  My mom (7/31), Rian's Dad (8/2), Tristan (8/5).  Also, Rian's mom's birthday was on 7/22 - the day before Ellie was born and Karen's birthday is also 7/31.  Happy birthday to all!

Great Granma and Little Ellie (8/3/2010)

Trip to Port Orchard

We went to Port Orchard on Tuesday to see Ellie's great grandmother, grandparents, and aunt Ashlie.  And then back again to have a family BBQ with Rian's mom's family on thursday.  Ellie also had her first ferry ride on Thursday.  I was trying to feed her in the car when we were on the ferry but she slept so well... I had to keep massaging her neck/shoulder/hands to keep her up for several minutes of feeding!

The cute little outfit 8/6/2010

Jen  and Ian's wedding

We attended Jen and Ian's wedding on Friday 8/6 at Peach Arch Park at the Canadian border. Little Ellie finally got a chance to meet Rian's friends.  Aunt Ashlie bought her a cute little dress for the wedding, but, unfortunately, she had a pretty bad blowout after the 2 hour long car ride. We had to change her back to a regular onesie when we got there.  Oh well... Anyways, it was a nice outdoor wedding.  Me and Rian took turns to hold her most of the time, and she didn't cry much except for when we need to change her diaper.